Ex-Bunkie police chief pleads not guilty to malfeasance charges

Former Bunkie Police Chief Bobby Corner pleaded not guilty to all charges against him in 12th Judicial District Court on Jan. 22.

His attorney, Mike Small, said he is looking forward to presenting his client’s case to a jury in May and does not expect his client to accept a plea deal.

Corner, 48, was arrested in October on charges of malfeasance in office, tampering with a surveillance system, tampering with evidence and injuring public records. Most alleged infractions occurred after Corner lost his re-election bid in March 2018.

State Police began an investigation in July 2018 into alleged irregularities at the Bunkie Police Department.

The investigators claim Corner allowed pieces of evidence in the police station to be unsecured, misplaced and lost.

They also allege he failed to introduce items into the evidence room, mishandled a felony case file, failed to process traffic citations, tampered with the police station’s surveillance system and shredded official documents.

NO DEAL

Small said his client maintains his innocence and does not plan to seek or accept any plea deals to lesser charges or in exchange for a light sentence.

“He has pled not guilty to all charges,” Small said. “This is a case that needs to be tried before a jury.”

Judge William “Billy” Bennett set a pre-trial conference date of April 8 and scheduled trial for May 6.

Small said his investigation and examination of evidence and documents to date indicates Corner “never had any intent to violate the law or commit any ethical violations. For that reason, we will go to trial on all charges.”

The next phase of the case is “discovery,” in which the defense seeks all evidence the prosecution has against the defendant.

“I have already received quite a bit of evidence even before officially filing my motion,” Small said.

“District Attorney Charles Riddle is very good about providing an open file,” he continued. “There is never any dispute that has to be litigated and we are usually able to stipulate the sufficiency of his response.”

Corner was elected in 2014 as Bunkie’s first African-American police chief. His four-year term was marked with disputes with the mayor and City Council and allegations of sexual harassment.

A federal lawsuit filed by former police officer Myra Fontenot was dismissed this past November, according to a U.S. District Court clerk of court spokesperson in Shreveport.